Go BIG or Go Home with Sweatsuit Sumo

Everyone wants to be a sumo wrestler, right? But, who has the time for all the training and where do you even buy those uniforms? Don’t worry, we have a cheap and hilarious twist on sumo wrestling that will rock at your next youth meeting and will have you in hysterics!

Set Up

Use colored duct tape to make a circle in the center of the tarp or mats.

Inflate two exercise balls.

When play begins, competing students will suit up by putting on the sweat shirt first, then the ball underneath, followed by the sweat pants, which should come up over the shirt and ball to hold everything together.

The Game

Have two students compete at a time, tournament style. To start, each student competing needs to suit up, and then take a sumo stance on the opposite side of the circle from each other. On go, the wrestling begins. The object is to be the first to force your opponent out of the circle. This is basically achieved by pushing. This is not WWE style, clothes lining, hitting, etc. are clearly not allowed. The winning student competes against the next student and play continues until each student has completed. The final student in the ring is the winner.

Application

Have you ever “wrestled” with God over a decision or situation? What was the outcome?

Have you ever experienced a time when there were major obstacles standing in the way of you growing in your relationship with God? Share that experience with your group. How did you overcome or remove that obstacle?

Supplies

2 4XL Men’s Sweatshirts

2 pair 4XL Men’s Sweatpants

A large tarp or gymnastics mats

2 55cm exercise balls (any larger will not fit under the sweat suit)

Colored duct tape

Notes

We do a lot of crazy, over the top activities for our youth after parties, some of which require a lot of prep and set up. Sweat Suit Sumo was so simple to put together, and when we did it for the first time, I was not expecting it to be such a hit. The students had a blast and were in hysterics the entire game. Honestly, I laughed so hard that my abs hurt the next day. I had been slightly concerned about students getting aggressive during the matches, but that wasn’t an issue at all. I even had parents telling me the next day that I needed to repeat the activity again because their students couldn’t stop talking about it that night when they got home.

Chasity is the Outreach and Education Coordinator at Christ UMC in Newcomerstown, Ohio. As part of that position, she is the youth pastor for Meta Student Ministries, a community wide, student led youth ministry, that takes place at Christ UMC. Chasity is most passionate about empowering and equipping teens and young adults to make a difference in the world through the life changing power of Jesus. She is also pretty passionate about hanging out with her awesome husband and family, mission work to Cuba, traveling, sweet tea, all things Spanish and cooking. You can follow her on Twitter: @ChasLOpp

1 COMMENT

Hey guys! This is a fun activity but I want to caution you about doing it without helmets. Our Youth for Christ chapter had professional suits and a professional mat but we never attempted it without safety head gear. The problem is not necessarily impact but whiplash. The force created by an object with rebound I.e. an exercise ball, can be enough to crack or even snap a vertebrae! We never think it will happen but when it does it’s devastating.